Charlotte bachelorette just wasn't that into him

"I've got two sisters who are huge 'Bachelor' fans," says Kimberly Coon. "They thought it would be funny to nominate me. I was like, 'OK, whatever.' Then ABC called."

And before long, Coon found herself in Los Angeles, one of 30 women starring in this season's "Bachelor" series. She was among those eliminated this week by Brad Womack, 37, who made "Bachelor" history by deciding not to select anyone when he was on the show in 2007.

Coon watched little of that season but knew who Womack was. She says it wasn't until she arrived at the mansion where the show is taped that she learned he was back for another try.

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Driving up, she says, was like a "Christmas morning" experience - everyone was wanting to check out the bachelor.

"We pulled up in the limo and there he was. There were four or five other girls there and recognized him instantly."

Coon, 27, a Charlotte marketing and public relations specialist who was on the Panthers TopCats squad in 2008 and 2009, said Womack was a nice guy, but she never really developed feelings for him.

"Brad seems like a great guy. A total gentleman. I think he'll make a great husband when he finds the right girl. ... I like to take time to get to know someone. I didn't get enough time to see where things would lead. I guess the spark just wasn't there."

Overall, Coon says, being on the show was a blast. She made some good friends, including Emily Maynard, a Charlotte hospital event planner who is still in the romantic mix. Maynard, 24, was engaged to NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick when he died in a plane crash in 2004.

Living in the mansion was "a howl," Coon says, though the place isn't as big as it looks when you're sharing it with 14 other women.

ABC provided Coon a list of suggested outfits to bring, but limited everyone to two bags. "I think I had to sit on my suitcase to get it to close." Coon says she packed about 10 pairs of shoes.

Since getting back from the show, which was taped in the fall, she's not fallen into any romance and has been focusing on work and family.

Would she consider going back on the show?

Probably not.

"I have no regrets. It's not an opportunity many people get. I've checked it off my bucket list."

Media Movers

Bill White, MUG ATTACHEDoperations director of WBT-AM (1110) and WLNK-FM ("Link" 107.9) takes over as program director at WGN-AM in Chicago. White has been at the Charlotte stations for a decade. ...

At WCCB (Fox Charlotte, Channel 18), weekend anchor Lyra Manning MUG ATTACHEDdeparts. She came to Charlotte in April 2009 from a station in Myrtle Beach ... Audrina Bigos joins Fox Charlotte as reporter and photographer ...

Actress Betty Lynn, who played Thelma Lou in the "Andy Griffith Show" and who lives in Mount Airy, will make appearances all year on the third Friday of the month at the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy.

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